LinguisticsLesson 3 of 5 in the course Language and Communication

Language Socialization, Speech Variation, and Linguistic Power

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Language is more than a system of words and grammar: it is a social practice learned through interaction with other people. This lesson explores how children acquire language in different cultural settings and how language learning also introduces children to the values and routines of their communities.

Babies are equipped with cognitive abilities that help them learn language. Most experience rapid language development between about nine months and three years of age. They learn by being exposed to the language around them, participating in interactions, and observing how other people communicate.

All flashcards

Language socialization
The study of how people acquire language through social life and learn cultural knowledge and ways to participate in a community.
Dialect
A patterned form of language associated with a particular region.
Vernacular
A way of speaking associated with a social category, such as ethnicity, age, or gender.
Code-switching
Strategic movement among languages, dialects, vernaculars, or other linguistic styles.
Language ideologies
Beliefs and assumptions about language, including how it should be learned and which forms are appropriate.

Quiz questions

  1. What makes a group a speech community?Answer: Members share ways of speaking and expectations for language use.
  2. Which feature most clearly distinguishes a dialect from a vernacular as defined in linguistics?Answer: A dialect is associated with a region; a vernacular with a social category.
  3. A speaker shifts between languages or styles to suit different audiences and settings. What is this called?Answer: Code-switching
  4. Why is it inaccurate to call a vernacular inferior simply because it differs from a prestigious institutional style?Answer: Social status does not determine whether a language variety has systematic patterns.
  5. What does research on language socialization examine?Answer: How social contexts shape language learning and how language learning conveys cultural knowledge.

Based on Introduction to Anthropology by Jennifer Hasty, David G. Lewis, Marjorie M. Snipes (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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